Sips & Scripts launches new season with local playwright

Kent State Trumbull Theatre's and Modern Methods Brewing Company's "Sips and Scripts" is back for another year, kicking off on Wednesday, Sept. 6, with a reading of Dr. Peter Byrne's The Flower & The Serpent.   

Byrne, associate professor of English at Kent State Trumbull, shared that he found inspiration for the script through his role as Macbeth in 2015. 

"I decided to approach it from a creative perspective: why was Macbeth determined to be king? In doing so, I realized just how much the play is driven by an equally obscure desire: Why does Lady Macbeth want Macbeth to be king?," Byrne said. "In figuring out the answer to that question, I was inspired to consider her story – who she was, and what the story of her marriage to Macbeth was like."

According to Byrne, the play tells the story of Lady Macbeth from her perspective – her life before and leading up to the events of Shakespeare's play. The plot reveals her secret motivation for entering into the murderous conspiracy with her husband and shows that, far from being the tale's villain, she is the true -- if tragic – hero. Violated as a young girl and torn away from the boy she loves, Lady Macbeth is drawn into the masculine world of politics and violence, seeking revenge for what was taken from her and discovering, in Macbeth, a partner who will not only give her justice but love, as well. The bargain she has made with supernatural forces to achieve her vengeance, however, threatens to cost her everything she has discovered – too late – and all she truly desires.

Eric Kildow, associate professor and theatre director, is thrilled to lead off the series with Byrne's script. 
"Peter is our first playwright from the Mahoning Valley that we have featured," Kildow said. "His abilities as a playwright and history with the Kent Trumbull Theatre make this a script that we are exceptionally excited to feature in such a prominent position.”

Byrne received national notoriety for writing scripts for Washington D.C. for Shakespeare Theatre Company's annual "Will on the Hill" benefit. For more than 10 years, he joined volunteers from the government (primarily members of the House and the Senate) along with local and national media, lobbyists, and corporate sponsors to perform an original play based on Shakespeare and infused with comedic references to contemporary politics and culture. The event raised money for the D.C. area's artistic, education and community outreach programs.  

After writing the Lady Macbeth story, Byrne wrote a book of nine short stories (called OFFSTAGE VOICES), all of which deal with characters and events before or after the plays of Shakespeare. He also wrote an adaptation of Goldoni's The Servant of Two Masters, which was set to open at Kent Trumbull before COVID-19 shelved the production. 

Kent State Trumbull graduate Jess Brumfield will direct The Flower & The Serpent.  The play contains episodes of violence, including sexual assault, so audience discretion is advised.

To accommodate the growing audience, "Sips and Scripts" is being held at Modern Methods Brewing Company's The Darlene Lounge, 145 W Market St., Warren. All readings are open to the public and doors open at 7 pm. For a complete list of readings or this theatre season, visit www.kent.edu/trumbull/theatre.